Refunding a return portion

[prd101]

I have a return portion of an Off Peak return from Bedford to Ryde Pier Head with a Network Railcard, priced £39.65.

I would like to apply to SW Trains (I brought the ticket on their website and collected it from a fast ticket machine) for a refund. The outward portion has been used and the return portion is still valid until 1st Sept but I no longer need it.

Is it worthwhile trying for a refund? I appreciate I wouldn't get a full refund and that there will be an admin fee, but a refund of just a few quid would be nice.

 

[yorkie]

You may get the difference between that and a single (a CDR is £31.60) minus a £10 admin fee. Which leaves you £0.00.

 

[barrykas]

I have a return portion of an Off Peak return from Bedford to Ryde Pier Head with a Network Railcard, priced £39.65.

I would like to apply to SW Trains (I brought the ticket on their website and collected it from a fast ticket machine) for a refund. The outward portion has been used and the return portion is still valid until 1st Sept but I no longer need it.

Is it worthwhile trying for a refund? I appreciate I wouldn't get a full refund and that there will be an admin fee, but a refund of just a few quid would be nice.

Not worth it in the slightest I'm afraid. The discounted Single is £39.30, for a difference of 35p, and there's a £10.00 Admin Fee, so you'd technically end up owing Trainline (who sold the ticket) £9.65.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[glynn80]

The FRPP does address this situation as follows:

Refunds on partly used tickets

The National Rail Conditions of Carriage (Condition 26 note (i)) warn customers that the refund amount they receive will normally reflect any use they have made of the ticket and in some circumstances no refund will be payable. If you accept a refund application on a partly used ticket please ensure the customer is aware of this condition.

Example

Customer buys a Saver Return from London to Plymouth (£64.00 rte ’Any Permitted’) but only uses the outward portion of the ticket and submits the ticket for refund. The charge for a Saver Single is £63.00. In this case the customer will not be entitled to a refund after deduction of the administration fee.

The example used is taken from Retail Manual Part M instead of the FRPP (the wording of this section of the FRPP is basically lifted from the old Retail Manual) because the language used in the FRPP example makes no real sense when read.

The example given above does tally in with what others have posted above. Basically if you want to refund a single portion of a return ticket, instead of just refunding you half the difference (which is where some may be getting confused), you are refunded the difference between the cheapest single ticket that would be available for the leg of the journey you made and the purchase price paid for the return ticket you currently hold.

 

[yorkie]

you are refunded the difference between the cheapest single ticket that would be available for the leg of the journey you made and the purchase price paid for the return ticket you currently hold.

In this case, would the cheapest single be the CDR at £31.60 or the SDS at £39.25? Although the result is still £0 in this case, if no railcard was held it would mean the difference between a small refund (£2.20) and no refund.

 

[glynn80]

In this case, would the cheapest single be the CDR at £31.60 or the SDS at £39.25? Although the result is still £0 in this case, if no railcard was held it would mean the difference between a small refund (£2.20) and no refund.

I have seen no written evidence dictating either way.

I would speculate that you may be able to convince a TOC that you should be refunded the difference between the CDR and SVR but I can't give a firm answer on that.

 

[Greenback]

£39.25 - £31.60 = £7.65

Admin fee £10

Refund still equals £0.00

 

[yorkie]

£39.25 - £31.60 = £7.65

Admin fee £10

Refund still equals £0.00

Yes, that's what I said 9 days ago (although it's 39.65 not 39.25)

But I am now asking what the rule is, because it does matter in some cases, such as this particular flow if a railcard was not held.

 

[craigy68]

... I would try and assertain your time/day of travel on the outbound - which would be the decider on a SDS or CDS.

 

[Greenback]

Yes, that's what I said 9 days ago (although it's 39.65 not 39.25)

But I am now asking what the rule is, because it does matter in some cases, such as this particular flow if a railcard was not held.

I know, I was just being light hearted! Sorry about the typo too!

 

[Matt Taylor]

The way to look at it is to question what would the customer have been sold had they asked for a single rather than a return, in this instance they would have been sold the CDR as it is the cheapest ticket for the journey they had asked for so the feund should be the difference between the SVR and the CDR. On SWT we sell the Super Off Peak Return to any passenger arriving in London after 12 noon even if they only want a single so the rules should work the same way for at Bedford.